California Public Employees Retirement System Has $28.62 Million Stock Position in Aspen Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZPN)

California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Aspen Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZPN) by 154.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 114,647 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 69,596 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Aspen Technology were worth $28,619,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Aspen Technology during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Atala Financial Inc bought a new position in shares of Aspen Technology during the 4th quarter worth about $44,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its position in shares of Aspen Technology by 965.0% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 213 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Aspen Technology by 5,700.0% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 232 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 228 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Aspen Technology by 30.1% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 251 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. 45.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Aspen Technology Stock Performance

Shares of AZPN stock opened at $264.33 on Friday. Aspen Technology, Inc. has a 52 week low of $171.25 and a 52 week high of $277.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.73 billion, a PE ratio of 3,304.54, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.73. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $264.48 and its 200-day moving average is $251.39.

Aspen Technology (NASDAQ:AZPN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The technology company reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.03. Aspen Technology had a net margin of 0.54% and a return on equity of 3.17%. As a group, analysts forecast that Aspen Technology, Inc. will post 6.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AZPN has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Baird R W downgraded Aspen Technology from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Robert W. Baird reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $265.00 price target (down from $275.00) on shares of Aspen Technology in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Loop Capital raised Aspen Technology from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $265.00 to $315.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Aspen Technology in a research note on Sunday, March 30th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Aspen Technology from $240.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Aspen Technology presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $272.00.

About Aspen Technology

Aspen Technology, Inc provides industrial software that focuses on helping customers in asset-intensive industries worldwide. The company’s solutions address complex environments where it is critical to optimize the asset design, operation, and maintenance lifecycle. Its software is used in performance engineering, modeling and design, supply chain management, predictive and prescriptive maintenance, digital grid management, and industrial data management.